Police: Foul play suspected in case of missing boy

Solomon Metalwala, father of missing 2-year-old Sky Metalwala, during a news conference in his Bellevue lawyer's office. In the foreground are photos of Sky and his sister, Maile, on the left. (Photo by Ken Lambert / The Seattle Times)

Bellevue Police Maj. Mike Johnson told the TV station that police have hit a wall in their investigation into the disappearance of 2-year-old Sky Elijah Metalwala.

With no solid leads, “absolutely we suspect foul play,” Johnson said.

Sky’s mother, Julia Biryukova, said the toddler disappeared after she left him alone in her unlocked car in Bellevue on Sunday morning after she ran out of gas.

According to police, Biryukova said she walked with her 4-year-old daughter to a Chevron station about a mile away. She called a friend who picked her up before she returned to her car.

When they arrived at the silver Acura Integra more than an hour later, Sky was gone, police said.

The boy’s disappearance came just four days after his parents spent 11 hours in mediation aimed at ending a bitter divorce in a compromise that awarded custody of the couple’s two young children to their mother but allowed visits with their father.

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The Today File is a general news blog featuring real-time coverage of Seattle and the Northwest. It is reported by the news staff of The Seattle Times and includes stories from The Associated Press and McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.